MetLife has signed an $8M annual contract to be one of four corner sponsors for the new Giants/Jets stadium, set to open in 2010, according to Peter Lauria of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that the deal gives MetLife "exclusive marketing control" of one of the stadium's four entrances. A source added that MetLife has the "right to brand such things as escalators and video screens, and even erect interactive displays within its section." The stadium is still seeking a naming rights partner as well as three additional corner sponsors, but sources said that those sponsorships are "expected to be announced shortly." Each of the five contracts are "understood to run for about 20 years." Wasserman Media Group is handling the negotiations for the Giants and Jets (N.Y. POST, 5/30). On Long Island, Neil Best, who Wednesday first reported the MetLife deal, noted that it "is not signed officially" yet. Best previously suggested that the deal was worth $6M annually, but Thursday he wrote it is "impossible at this stage for me to stand by a number that precise." However, one thing that "now seems almost beyond question: It would be a shock if the teams did not sell" PSLs (NEWSDAY.com, 5/29).
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Marathon Partners LP Manager Mario Cibelli, whose company is the largest outside shareholder of Dover Motorsports Inc., Thursday sent a letter to Dover's BOD “urging the company to sell” Dover Int'l Speedway, according to David Newton of ESPN.com. Dover, Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway are the only independently owned tracks left on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit, and Cibelli said, “We’re really getting down to the end of a consolidation of the industry. It’s clear Dover does not have an independent future. In my opinion, it’s time to do something now.” Cibelli said that he “hasn’t talked to another shareholder that doesn’t agree with his position.” Marathon Partners owns 7.5% of Dover Motorsports Inc. (ESPN.com, 5/29). Marathon Partners also owns 1.3% of the voting stock (SCENEDAILY.com, 5/29).

WITHER LAS VEGAS? In Las Vegas, Jeff Wolf writes with SMI Chair & CEO Bruton Smith last week announcing a deal to purchase Kentucky Speedway, the prospects of getting a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) “seem to be off the front burner, if not removed from the stove completely” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL, 5/30). An “oft-repeated rumor had Smith closing Pocono and moving one of its races to Kentucky Speedway and the other" to LVMS. However, that rumor was “quashed this week” when Pocono co-Owner Rose Mattioli said that she and her husband Joseph “had no intention of selling the track to Smith or anyone else” (LAS VEGAS SUN, 5/30).

The Sprint Center on September 22 will host a Blues-Kings preseason game, the first hockey game played in the arena. Tickets will range from $10 for a section in the north end zone to $150 for two sections of rink-side, center-ice seats. But Sprint Center Senior VP & GM Brenda Tinnen said, "In terms of a litmus test, I think that's all determined by the NHL and respective owners and their timeline for expansion of if there is a relocation" (K.C. STAR, 5/30).

Augusta National Raising
Practice Round Tickets By $5

AROUND THE GREEN: Augusta National has raised ticket prices $5 for '09 practice rounds of The Masters, the first increase in five years. Monday and Tuesday events will cost $36, while Wednesday events, which includes admission to the Par-3 Tournament, will cost $41. An Augusta National spokesperson said that tournament officials also are "debating an increase for tournament badges, but have yet to reach a decision" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 5/30).

NEW HOME FOR THE DOME: Pontiac, Michigan, city officials Thursday approved "key terms of a pending purchase agreement" to sell the Silverdome to Silver Stallion Development Group LLC President H. Wallace Parker. In Detroit, Jun & Hicks report a "windfall of $20[M] from the sale of the Dome could save the city from a possible state takeover." Officials in the next two weeks before another public hearing and council meeting are "expected to finalize a term sheet" (DETROIT NEWS, 5/30).

JUST CRACKER JACKS, PLEASE: In a front-page piece for the K.C. STAR, Kevin Murphy notes the Royals are considering offering "peanut-free seats" at Kauffman Stadium for certain games. Royals VP/Sales & Marketing Mark Tilson said that the team has not yet "designated seats as peanut-free but are considering that possibility." Tilson added that in the last two seasons, groups or families that requested peanut-free seats "were placed in enclosed, thoroughly-cleaned suites" (K.C. STAR, 5/30).